Koodiyattom, the ancient temple art
of Kerala, is attracting more attention with Sashi Paravoor’s
acclaimed film Nottam (The Gaze) on the dance form, writes M.S.
Unnikrishnan

Koodiyattom brings out the
ultimate in abhinaya

Koodiyattom
is an ancient temple art
of Kerala which preceded Kathakali by a few light years. Yet, this
vibrant theatre form, set to Sanskrit lyrics, has been mostly confined
to the stages of the temples and select art venues across the Malabar
area of Kerala. And not many even within or outside the state were
aware of its existence, beyond its immediate environs.

Koodiyattom brings out
the ultimate in abhinaya as this dance form is much more
classical and elegant, in form and content, than Kathakali, another
ancient temple art, which has become the virtual mascot of the ‘God’s
Own Country’.

People outside the state
might have heard about thespian Mani Madhava Chakyar, who was the
ultimate exponent of Koodiyattam, but little of the art itself he
perfected and performed with mastery.

Koodiyattom was on the
verge of extinction when Unesco (United Nations’ Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organisation) declared it as one of the 20
heritage art forms in the world, to be preserved and protected, in all
its pristine purity. Suddenly, the world, particularly the cultural
czars of the country, took note of the dying temple art practised by
just eight ‘Chakyar’ families in Kerala.

The dance form is much more classical and elegant, in form and content, than Kathakali

Performing Koodiyattom
is the prerogative of the Chakyars but they face the harsh realities
of today’s world, which offers nothing much to the practitioners of
this ritualistic classical art form, with the accompaniment of three
classical percussion instruments—mizhavu, thimila and edakka.
Naturally, keeping alive Koodiyattom in its pristine form has been a
daunting task, which only the Chakyar families can ensure, though
their numbers are dwindling. Moreover, only women—just a handful now—enact
the role of women in Koodiyattom and their numbers are not growing
either. (In Kathakali, males enact the female roles).

Interestingly, even the
cultural czars do not want ‘outsiders’ to take up Koodiyattam to
widen its base for the fear of ‘diluting’ its form and polluting
its beauty, as they had done with Kathakali a few years ago. Secretary
in the Union Ministry of Culture K Jayakumar voiced this concern when
he said he feared that half-baked artistes would try to perform
Koodiyattom for the uninitiated to do more harm than good to its
preservation. Koodiyattom got a shot in the arm, like a Godsend, when
Sashi Paravoor made an acclaimed film on it, named Nottam (The
Gaze). It took Sashi four years’ painstaking reserach before
finalising the script, and mounting the sets to shoot the film. And
while shooting the film, tragedy struck when female lead Margi Sathi’s
husband N. Subramanian Potti died of eloctrocution. Margi Sathi is not
a professional actress, but the doyenne of Koodiyattom, who agreed to
do the film only because of the backing of her husband and other male
members in the family. The film is naturally dedicated to Potti, who
himself was an accomplished edakka player.

Sathi set aside her
personal tragedy to complete the film, which is not only a classic,
but has helped revive the interest for the salvation of Koodiyattam in
all its glory.

Jayakumar, who has
penned lyrics for over 100 films, paid the ultimate compliment to
Sashi Paravoor’s labour of love when he noted that the "film
has fully adhered to the grammar of Koodiyattom".

Nottam
has not yet been commercially released, but it has already won several
awards. Sashi will be financially ruined if it does not make the cash
registers tingle at the turnstile. Sashi had burnt his boat badly when
he made a human-interest film on an AIDS-affected woman, titled Kaattu
Vannu Vilichappol (When the Wind
Beckoned), but nobody showed any interest in the stark subject,
and the film sank without a trace. Rs 45 lakh went down the drain but
Sashi was not deterred. He mustered the courage to make a film on
Koodiyattom, egged on by friends, and inspired by Mohan Lal’s
classic role as a Kathakali artiste, played to perfection by the star,
in the national-award winning movie Vanaprastham.

The beauty of Nottam is
that Sashi has not only focussed national attention on Kodiyattam for
its revival, but has managed to extract matchless performances from
acclaimed actors like Nedumudi Veenu, Jagathi Sreekumar,
M R Gopakumar, Margi Sathi and a handful of greenhorns, portending
commercial success for the film
as well.

All the actors have
given natural performances, living up to the exacting abhinaya
standards of Koodiyattom. Veenu, who plays the central character of
Vasudeva Chakyar, the protagonist, had noted in an interveiw that
"I started each shot with a prayer, appealing to the gurus of
Koodiyattom to give us their blessings". Veenu’s masterly
abhinaya is the high point of the film, and he gives it a fitting
climax by feigning his death ‘perfectly’ at the end. Veenu’s
last shot enacting Bali’s death in the story Bali Vadham
looks ‘real’, and the supporting cast heave a sigh of relief only
when he twinkles his eyes to come of out of the comatose mode and give
his abhinaya that matchless touch, before "The End" comes.
The two-hour long film espouses the need to use modern technology,
like Internet, to widen the scope and reach of the stylised art form,
as well as focussing on the unspoilt life in the villages where
water-harvesting, traditional method of farming, etc have been a way
of life, and continue to be so, gelling finely with the changing times
and modern gizmos.

The unspoilt locales,
soulful music by Jayachandran (sung by Yesudas, Chitra and
Jayachandran) and evocating acting are the other compelling features
of the film.

The message the film
conveys is: Ancient art forms like Koodiyattom can survive and succeed
by moving with the times, yet sticking to the core values, so that its
pristine nature is not compromised. For the Chakyars, Koodiyattom is a
sacrosanct act, and Sashi Parvoor’s film too says that — the art
form should be kept sacrosanct. "The Chakyars are unsurpassable
for their histrionics", Veenu noted.